AKIRA, Cut No. 84, Solegraph Edition

TOSHIHARU MIZUTANI (B. 1953)
AKIRA, Cut No. 84, Solegraph Edition
numbered and signed by the artist (lower edge)
solegraph high-grade fine-art print on Radiant White 270 g/m² archival cotton paper
sheet: 27 1/2 x 19 5/8 inches (70 x 50 cm)
image: 15 7/8 x 15 inches (40.5 x 38 cm)
original background painted in 1988. this is one of 28 numbered examples. solegraph edition produced by Yamada Photo Process, Toyama, published by Riekeles Gallery in 2023. supplied unframed.

Katsuhiro Otomo's AKIRA (1988) built its cinematic power on a Neo Tokyo painted by seventy staff using 327 individually mixed colors, and this Solegraph edition print reproduces one of the most quietly effective backgrounds in the film. Cut No. 84 leads into a narrow alley lit by cool neon, and its dramatic perspective, dense architectural detail, and quiet interplay of shadow and reflection draw the viewer deep into the streetscape. The action in AKIRA takes place mainly at night, and the film's colour chart holds a remarkable range of dark hues — many of which would not ordinarily appear in animation at all. Kimie Yamana, the production's chief colourist, described what was at stake: "There's such subtlety in the variations that you wouldn't notice them on a television screen, but in the theatre it really makes a difference." An alley such as this one is where that decision does its work — almost nothing in the image is lit, and what carries the composition is the distinction between one darkness and the next.

Toshiharu Mizutani served as the film's art director and defined the visual identity of Neo Tokyo across the production. This Solegraph edition is produced by Yamada Photo Process in Toyama, published by Riekeles Gallery, and printed 1:1 beside the original painting under matched lighting until the closest possible color match has been reached.